Bomb scare on Jet Airways flight to Kathmandu, ops at airport affected

An unidentified person made a call to the airport authorities saying that a Jet Airways aircraft that took off from New Delhi had explosives inside it.

Flight operations in Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu were affected on Sunday after airport authorities were warned of a bomb on board a Jet Airways flight that left from New Delhi in the afternoon.

An unidentified person made a call to the airport authorities saying that a Jet Airways aircraft that took off from New Delhi had explosives inside it.

There was panic at the airport as soon as the news spread. Security was tightened inside the airport after the threat was received.

Shortly after the aircraft landed at the airport at around 4:30 pm, the aircraft was taken to isolation and search operations were carried out and passengers were safely evacuated. Security personnel, including Nepal Army’s bomb disposal squad were mobilised for carrying out search operations.

However, the bomb threat turned to be a hoax and no explosive was found inside the aircraft.

“We had carried a thorough investigation of all the baggage, passengers and aircraft seats, where noting was found,” a senior official at the airport said.

All domestic as well as international flights were suspended for about an hour due to the incident.

The airport authorities cleared the ground at 5.30 pm (local time)after going through necessary investigations.

Security at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport was also scaled up on Sunday after a local hotel received a call about bomb threat to half a dozen flights.

The call was made by an anonymous caller saying that bombs have been planted on six flights, including one on a Jet Airways plane,” according to a source.